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How our projects are performing

As many of your probably saw in our last newsletter, we gave an update on how our Help Build™ wind projects are faring. We wanted to give our supporters a status update on all of NativeEnergy’s Help Build™ projects. Included in this blog is a report on the performance during 2009 of the remainder of our projects. Please visit the project page on our website for more information.

Most of these Help Build™ projects in our portfolio are over-performing significantly, so that our overall performance of all of our Help Build™ projects through 2009 was 106.6% percent of projections. All of the extra CO2 reductions are being retired for our customers.

Essex Junction Municipal Biogas Generator

Built in the summer of 2003 at the Essex Junction Wastewater Treatment Facility in Vermont, this project captures methane gas and uses it to fuel two 30 kW electricity generating turbines. One of our earliest projects, this facility continues to operate better than forecasted.

Stonyfield Farm Solar Array

In the summer of 2005, we helped build what was New Hampshire's largest solar array, a 50 kW system on the roof of our long-time partner Stonyfield Farm's manufacturing facilities. "This project is another step for us on our journey toward our dream of freeing Stonyfield Farm from the impacts and risks of fossil fuels," said Gary Hirshberg, Stonyfield Farm President and CE-Yo, when the project was first completed. Up through the end of 2009, this array has operated at the levels expected.

These are some of our earliest farm projects; collectively, these six farms include around 3,500 cows. Many of these farmers agree that their highest aspiration is to be a farm of the future, producing high quality food while also generating renewable energy from waste and employing environmentally responsible practices. All of these farm projects are performing at or better than expected levels.

Salish Kootenai/Boulder Hydro

The Boulder Creek Hydro Project is owned by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Located on the Flathead Reservation, the facility is in Lake County in Western Montana. Part of the tribe’s mission is to provide sound environmental stewardship to preserve, perpetuate, protect, and enhance natural resources and ecosystems, and they have done so by renovating this renewable energy project on their reservation. This project continues to operate at a level exceeding forecasted performance.

CSS Trucking Fuel Economy Programs- Oregon

This project’s contributions to sustainable development include: reducing the consumption of fossil energy sources, reducing air and greenhouse gas pollution, and helping locally-owned, independent American truckers and fleets maintain their livelihoods in an ever more competitive environment. Measures put in place as a result of the project will reduce the consumption of diesel fuel through reductions in weight, in aerodynamic drag, in tire rolling resistance and in fuel consumption while idling. This project is operating at a level exceeding forecasted performance. In developing the original forecast of performance, NativeEnergy and CSS elected to use a number of conservative assumptions to ensure an adequate performance buffer.

Trellis Structures

Located in East Templeton, Massachusetts, the project facility consists of a block building, approximately 38,000 square feet, used for wood manufacturing. For the heating season of 2008-2009, the owners expanded the heated area of the building by 6,600 square feet for additional office and manufacturing space. This would have required approximately an additional 1,200 gallons of fuel oil. Instead, the facility installed a new hot water distribution system employing a 1,140,000 BTU pellet boiler. This boiler can also be used to burn corn. The oil burner will be completely replaced and dismantled. This project is currently performing modestly below expectations. This is a recent project and is subject to variations of winter heating season requirements; the limited data currently available may not be representative of long-term performance. Several additional years of data will be required to draw conclusions.

All production data has been verified by qualified, independent third parties, with the following exception: the CSS Trucking Fuel Economy Program draws on a combination of sampling from owner/operator survey responses, and information that is used for tax purposes and data collected by GPS as reported by fleet owner.